On Mooney today...

Yesterday, Eamon Dunphy promised live on Mooney to wear a dress if Brazil win the World Cup. Needless to say, we are shouting for Brazil in tonight's World Cup Semi-Final against Germany! Brenda Donohue goes to meet some of Dublin's Brazilian community.

We find out about the beached whales in Donegal.

And we meet the woman in Achill Island whose engagement ring turned up in a field of spuds 18 years after being lost. Did it really enter one end of a cow and leave through the other? Katriona McFadden investigates!

Respa Mattress Competition

Some shows give away prizes you can only dream of, but on this show we give away prizes that actually help you dream!

We're teaming up with Irish owned Respa Beds, who have 67 years of bed manufacturing expertise - and with a leading Gel Producer they've developed a new cooling gel for the Irish market that helps balance your sleeping temperature to cut out all that twisting and turning so you get to enjoy a night of restful sleep.

Thanks to them, we've the ultimate mattress in terms of technology and engineering to give away on the show each day this week - it's the brand new Respa Gel mattress, the ultimate in achieving a good night’s sleep – and one product in their 2014 collection of a wide range of beds and mattresses all designed right here in Ireland and available through www.respabeds.ie!

To enter just answer this question:

Tuesday, July 8th 2014

Which South American country did Pele play for?

Text COMP followed by your name and answer to 51551. Lines close at 4pm.

Vai Brasil!!

On yesterday's show, RTÉ soccer pundit Eamon Dunphy promised that if Brazil won the World Cup this year, he would come back on Mooney next week - wearing a dress! So needless today, we are all Team Brasil today! Last night, Brenda Donohue headed along to the Language Exchange in DTwo on Harcourt Street in Dublin to find out how the Brazilian community in Ireland think the Seleção will fare in the first Semi-Final, against Germany, in Belo Horizonte tonight...

Beached Pilot Whales In Donegal

Very disturbing news emerged from Donegal recently, when thirteen pilot whales became stranded on a beach. Local people have been trying to save the whales, trying to encourage them back into the water, keeping them hydrated. But it appears as though it has all in vain, and the last of the whales looks like it will die over the next few hours.

The message from the experts, however, is "let nature take its course". These strandings are a regular occurrence, and very much a mystery to us. To explain more, we're joined from the beach in question - Ballyness Bay, Falcarragh in Co. Donegal - by Pat Baughan, wildlife ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service in the north-west...

Ring Of Achill

Last Thursday we told you about Lois Matykowski from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Five years ago her wedding ring went missing and, after searching for it, she gave up on ever finding it. That is until her pet pooch, Tucker, ate an icepop recently, stick and all - and then promptly vomited it all up. When Lois went to clean up the vomit, what did she see gleaming at her in the middle of all the 'unpleasantness', only her wedding ring?!

She was delighted to have it back - and her vet told her that it was probably the wooden stick of the icepop that finally dislodged the wedding ring from the dog's stomach.

And we asked you for YOUR stories of things that were lost and found – and we received all manner of tales... but one in particular really caught our eye. It came in from listener Paddy Gallagher, who wrote in to tell us how his mother Kathleen's engagement ring turned up eighteen years after it was lost - and what happened to it, and the manner in which it was found, amazed us so much that we sent Mooney reporter Katriona McFadden over to Achill to find out more...

Aslan

We had a great reaction to Aslan last week. Guitarist Billy McGuinness and singer Christy Duignam were here, along with the rest of the band: Rod O'Brien on bass guitar, Alan Downey on drums, and Joe Jewel on guitar.

We played their brilliant current single, I Need A Little Time. But before they came on air, the lads recorded an acoustic piece, just for us. It's called This Time, and was originally recorded for their 1994 album, Goodbye Charlie Moonhead. We hear that song this afternoon...

The Journey's On Us 2014

For the past two years, Mooney have teamed up with Irish Rail for their "The Journey's On Us" giveaway. As part of this initiative, Iarnród Éireann will provide 100 groups with free return rail for up to 50 people per group.

It's a brilliant initiative and what we found over the last two years is it provides a fantastic day out for community, voluntary and charity groups.

Mooney reporter Brenda Donohue is in Céannt Railway Station in Galway for the launch of The Journey’s On Us 2014

Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail has launched the 2014 programme for The Journey’s On Us, an initiative to support organisations and groups in the voluntary, community, sporting and charity sector.

"The Journey's On Us" will provide 100 groups with a free group travel return journey for up to 50 people per group during 2014, meaning 5,000 free journeys are on offer across the company's services. The travel facilities will be ideal in particular for organisations bringing a group to a special event, or as part of a specific support to the members of the group which requires travel.

Iarnród Éireann Chief Executive David Franks said "Voluntary organisations are the life blood of communities across the country. However, like everyone, their budgets have been cut. We know there are youth, sports, music, voluntary, charity and other groups in the community who would benefit greatly from being able to undertake initiatives which involve a travel cost, but have had to scale back. We in Iarnród Éireann, through The Journey's On Us, want to do what we can to help such groups achieve their goals, and say thank you to the organisations which play such a vital role in the daily lives of communities. The initiative is now in its third year with the interest and amount of groups applying has grown significantly each year, which we are absolutely delighted with."

The company has today invited all community, voluntary, sporting and charity groups to apply for the 100 group travel trips available. Entry forms are available at all Iarnród Éireann stations or online at www.irishrail.ie/journeys . Entry forms can be filled out online, emailed tojourneys@irishrail.ie or by post to Corporate Communications, Iarnród Éireann, Connolly Station, Dublin 1. The closing date for receipt of entries is Monday July 14th, at 16.30hrs.

Last year, over 750 groups applied for the scheme, and organisations ranging from Men's Sheds to choirs, Special Olympics to Girl Guides, and groups representing youth and elderly, benefited from "The Journey's On Us". Last year Iarnród Éireann offered for the first time a special prize for the winning group that submitted the most interesting and inspirational account of their day travelling with them. The winner of the prize was Special Hands Activity Group from Kelly, Co. Meath.

The initiative is being supported nationally by RTÉ Radio 1's Mooney, and Brenda Donohue is joining customers and staff at Ceannt Railway Station, Galway today to launch "The Journey's On Us" 2014. They were joined by Galway Community Circus who were a winner of one of the trips last year. Mooney will also feature successful groups throughout the year.

All applications will be considered by an adjudicating panel and successful groups will be notified from July onwards. For further information and to see terms and conditions please log onto www.irishrail.ie/journeys.

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Singles Night Out!

We are organising a singles night out for our listeners who are over 35! The where and when is still being finalised, but if you are interested in joining in the fun, then send us an e-mail! Let us know your age, gender, and if you are single. You must be available to travel to the venue at your own expense. Please send your e-mail to mooney@rte.ie, with the subject line 'Singles Night Out'. And keep listening for further information!

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Search For A Child Star Finalists

Earlier this year, we launched our competition to find Ireland's newest child star. The competition was open to boys and girls who were aged 10 years old or under. We asked you to record a piece that was no more than three minutes long, and e-mail it in to us.

The finalists, in no particular order, are:

- Hannah Kinsella (9 years old, from Lucan, Co. Dublin) with Pushover- Nikki Brown (8 years old, from Saggart, Co. Dublin) with Colours Of The Wind- Anna Lily Fox (6 years old, from Ballinalee, Co. Longford) with a Johnny Cash medley- Laoise Farrell (9 years old, from Ogonnolloe. Co. Clare) with The Call- Alannah Bermingham (10 years old, from Kilmacud, Dublin) with Colours Of The Wind

The date for the final will be announced shortly and the winner will perform at our Christmas Mooney Tunes concert.

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Hedgerows: It is an offence to 'cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy hedgerows on uncultivated land during the nesting season from 1 March to 31 August, subject to certain exceptions'. For more information, click here.

UPDATE: February 29th 2016 - Press Release From BirdWatch Ireland:

Putting the record straight: Dates for burning and hedge-cutting have NOT changed

BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest conservation charity, is very concerned about misinformation that is currently circulating regarding the dates within which the burning of vegetation and cutting of hedges is permitted. It would like to remind landowners that all burning and cutting must cease on 29th February this year and that burning and cutting remains prohibited from 1st March to 31st August.

Despite attempts by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys T.D., to change the laws regulating these dates by introducing the Heritage Bill 2016 earlier this year, it is important to note that the proposed date changes were ultimately NOT made. This is because the bill failed to pass through both houses of the Oireachtas before the recent dissolution of the Dáil in advance of the general election.

The laws in place governing the dates for hedge-cutting and upland burning therefore remain unchanged. The period within which cutting and burning is prohibited are set down in Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended in 2000), which states that:

(a) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy, during the period beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August in any year, any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.
(b) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch during the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection (above).

The existing law provides exemptions for road safety and other circumstances and should be read carefully to ensure compliance.

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act exists to protect nesting birds. Many of our upland bird species are in decline and are in danger of extinction in Ireland; amongst them is the Curlew, which has declined by 80%. Many birds which nest in hedgerows into August are also in serious decline, including the endangered Yellowhammer. The changes to the cutting and burning dates which had been proposed in the now-defunct Heritage Bill 2016 would have caused serious impacts to these birds. A petition launched by BirdWatch Ireland in conjunction with several other national conservation organisations to stop these changes attracted more than 16,200 signatures and rising.

BirdWatch Ireland would also like to advise members of the public that if they see hedges being cut or fires in the uplands on or after 1st March, such activity could be illegal. In such cases, we would encourage people to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service (www.npws.ie) to report such activity.

BirdWatch Ireland warmly welcomes the demise of the Heritage Bill 2016 and sincerely hopes that any future administration will consider the importance of Ireland’s natural heritage and will not attempt to reintroduce such a flawed and damaging piece of legislation.

RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster.RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Images courtesy of Inpho.ie and Getty Images.